By SARA NABIZADEH | Since last year’s release of The Towns EP, Honest Haloway took a brief hiatus to regroup and recruit Maryland native Charlie Karim as the band’s crucial second member. Charlie’s diverse musical background has brought an additional element of energy that really elevated the band’s already combustive sound to something even bigger. Since the release of the first EP, the two have become next-door neighbors in Northwest DC and are rehearsing regularly to prepare for a string of live shows.
In addition to the band’s newest member, Honest Haloway partnered up with close friend and photographer Nick Balleza to create a visual story to go with the single “Psycho Bitch.” The collaboration resulted in a risqué music video featuring a plethora of familiar faces, fans, and DC natives gathered together for a party with a memorable twist. In fact—full disclosure—TVD Senior Editor Olivia Ung makes a quick cameo at 1:57.
“The video was our way of giving people a peek into what we imagine when we write these songs, and including them was a way of involving our friends and fans in doing what we love doing best. It was a fun project for everyone,” said Kratzer.
The band quickly moved to Plan B when YouTube flagged the video, issuing an update on their Facebook page: “So…the Nazi virgins at YouTube pulled our video in a matter of hours for being too awesome, but we’re not letting that cramp our style. We’re proud of our song and our video and are premiering it on Vimeo instead. Long live Psycho Bitch!”
Kratzer thinks it was actually a good thing for the video to be pulled. “Some asshole decided to flag the video because they couldn’t handle it, apparently, but ultimately they did us a favor because it helped create a little more buzz being that the video was considered ‘too hot’ for YouTube, if you will. So, thanks, asshole!”
Karim elaborates, “We were pleasantly surprised to see all the buzz on the internet about the video and figured we might be pushing our luck with such controversial content, but hey, it’s art, and sometimes it’s supposed to be controversial.”
After spending a couple of weeks during the summer traveling in Iceland, Kratzer returned home inspired and began conceptualizing a collection of new songs for the band’s sophomore EP, titled Perigee. He spent the better part of the fall writing and recording songs that are reminiscent of the ethereal and moody vibe of The Towns, but now, with the addition of Karim, have a new energy. Honest Haloway has developed a deeper, more layered sound that the two are excited to play in front of live audiences.
They’ll be playing their first live venue show at The Velvet Lounge on Saturday, March 9, and are bringing the entire cast and crew of the video to the performance to kick things off right. NPR-buzzworthy band Miyazaki and Rain Tears support.
Honest Haloway with Miyazaki and Rain Tears
The Velvet Lounge (915 U Street NW)
Doors 9pm | Show 9:30pm | 21+ | $8
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Photo by Sara Nabizadeh
